The decade-old plan to turn the long-shuttered Hunters Point Naval Shipyard into a dynamic new bayside neighborhood moved a giant step closer to reality early Wednesday morning when the Board of Supervisors approved the controversial environmental impact report for the 702-acre project.

The board still needs to approve the specifics at its July 27 meeting, but the surprisingly strong 8-3 vote in favor of the redevelopment plan shows the support is there, said Sophie Maxwell, the force behind the project that supporters say will transform her Bayview-area district.

"This has been a long time coming," she said. "One of the reasons I ran (for supervisor) was to usher this through, and now I'm concentrating on pushing it over the finish line."

The timing is perfect for Maxwell, a Bayview resident who served on a local committee working on plans for the shipyard before being elected to the board in 2000. She will be termed out of office in January.

The redevelopment plan calls for homes for 24,000 residents, open space and space for office, retail and research and development. Fights over the plan have centered on removing toxic substances and developing sensitive wetlands.

Improvement efforts

Both supporters and opponents of the project vowed to craft amendments designed to change parts of the redevelopment plan when it returns to the board later this month, but Maxwell isn't worried.

"I expect that everything is going to pass," she said. "There might be some changes, but the core values are going to stay."

Even some of the project's opponents suggested the effort over the next two weeks will be to improve the plan rather than torpedo it.

"The EIR is behind us and I'm not going to continue to raise concerns about the cleanup" of toxic substances on the former base, said Supervisor Eric Mar, who joined supervisors Chris Daly and John Avalos in voting against approval of the environmental impact report. "I want to make sure that we have the strongest enforcement we can make to ensure that the developer follows through on the promises made to the community."

Lennar Corp., the Miami-based home builder developing the shipyard, has signed a community benefits agreement requiring that 32 percent of the 10,500 planned units be affordable housing, including replacement of the aging Alice Griffith housing project; providing job training for local residents and setting goals for local hiring. The $25 million promised for community benefits also will include educational improvements, a scholarship fund and improvements to the Southeast Health Center.

The developer has long been the target of complaints from opponents, including some at Tuesday's 9 1/2-hour-long hearing, who charge that Lennar received a sweetheart deal from the city for the shipyard property and has been more concerned about profits than community health. While cleanup is continuing, local, state, and federal reports have found much of the site clean enough to develop.

The company has fought those complaints for years, but weeks away from seeing most of its political problems end, it isn't inclined to pick a fight.

"We recognize that such a large project has its foes as well as supporters," said Kofi Bonner, a Lennar vice president.

Opposition to bridge

The largest remaining sticking point is the plan to connect the shipyard property and Candlestick Point with a bridge over Yosemite Slough. The plan has brought howls of protest from environmental groups.

The bridge will cross a large patch of wetlands that is slated for restoration. Groups like the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society challenged the environmental impact report, arguing that the city could avoid the bridge by routing traffic around the slough, a ride that would take only minutes longer.

Planners said the more direct route is needed for buses to serve the community. But National Football League officials have also said that the bridge is a requirement if a new stadium for the 49ers is ever included in the project.

Supervisor David Campos, who voted for the environmental impact report, argued Wednesday morning that "the argument as to why the bridge is needed has not been made," and reminded the board that the vote on the report "is not the end of the process."

But the proposals suggested so far are fixes to the existing plan, which supervisors say is on the cusp of final approval.

"Last night was a milestone; it's something people in the Bayview community cared about so much," said board President David Chiu. "We're moving forward with a project that will impact the future of San Francisco."